She is the niece of Philip Sherman, a dentist. Gill and the other fish in Sherman's fish tank describe Darla as a fish killer and that Nemo is supposed to be her new pet fish. The last fish she received, Chuckles, was killed by her because she wouldn't stop shaking the bag Chuckles was in. In the scene where Darla is about to take Nemo from her uncle, Nemo plays dead, but Darla thinks he is just sleeping and starts shaking the bag. Gill then fires himself out of the tank and lands in her hair, causing her to drop Nemo and his bag pops. After Gill catapults Nemo into the air, Darla tries to grab him, but he lands in a sink and is swallowed into a drain leading to a sewer. Darla then looks down the drain and screams "FISHY!", and then the drain squirts water in her face. It is unknown what happens to Darla afterwards.

Trivia

According to one of the Finding Nemo books, the shirt Darla was wearing in the film was given to her by her uncle after her pet fish Chuckles died.

Darla, in a way, is very similar to Sid Phillips, as they are both naughty human children who serve as antagonists towards the main character's races (toys and fish, respectively), although while Sid is a genuinely nasty child (in the first Toy Story) who relishes in his sick experiments, Darla appears to be much more innocent and seemingly did not mean Chuckles and Nemo any real harm, and apparently genuinely caring for Nemo (evidenced by her calling out to Nemo when he went down the drain).

During Darla's visit, the patients sitting in the waiting room who hear the commotion between Dr. Sherman, Darla, and Nigel are a young boy (reading an Incredibles comic) and his mother, a brunette-haired woman, and a balding man.